Half to samuel mccain and j



(No-Mdel.) g J. A. HORNBKB.

VALVE GEAR.

NQ. 547,213. Patented 0025. `1,- 18195.

UNTTnn STaTns llaTnrvT @Tirion JAMES A. HORNBAKE, OF COAL CENTRE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OE ONE- HALE TO SAMUEL MCCAlN AND J. V. LE/VELLEN, OF SAME PLACE.

VALVE-G EAR.

SPECIFCJI-LI?10Nv forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,213, dated October 1, 1895. Application siempre 25. 1895. seria No. 547,165. uro man.)

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES A. HORNBAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coal Centre, in the county of Washington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Valve-Gear, ot' which the follow ing is a specitication.

My invention relates to valve-gear adapted especially for use upon stern-paddle steamers ro which are in common use upon shallow streams, and the object in view is to provide valve mechanism which is not operated by means of an eccentric and yoke on the paddleshaft, as in the ordinary construction, but is entirelyhoused and arranged within reach of the engineer. The objection to the present manner of communicating'motion to the valve controlling the inlet of steam to the cylinder is that floating dbris, ice, sand, ashes, and

2o various other articles thrown from the boat serve to obstruct, injure, and cause unnecessary wear upon the operating faces of the device.

Further objects and advantages of this inz5 vention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of 3o a valve mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention applied in the operative position to a pitman, crank, and shaft of the ordinary construction. Fig. 2 is a detail view in perspective of the mechanism. Fig.

3 is a detail plan view of the same.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the lign res of the draw- 1n gs.

1 designates a shaft, which is adapted to 4o carry a paddle-wheel (not shown) of the ordinary construction. 2 is a crank secured to said shaft, and 3 is a pitman connecting the wrist-pin 1 of the crank with the sliding crosshead 5, mounted upon the horizontal guides 6.

4 5 7 is a portion of a valve-rod, which is connected at one end to a rocking lever 8, provided With spaced outwardlydellected jaws 9 and 10, between which operates a rounded head 11 on the extremity of an operating-le- 5o ver 12. Said rocking and operating levers are mounted, respectively,in bearings formed upon a bracket 13, arranged upon the bed 14.1 of the engine.

Secured to and carried by the pitman is a guide-rod 15, held in place at its extremities by angle -irons 16, and sliding upon this guide-rod is a shoell'l', to' which is pivotally connected the extremity of the other arm of the operating-lever, the arm which is connected to the shoe being deilected from the 6o line of the arm which forms connection with the rocking leverin order to extend Over the pitman.

The vertical motion imparted to the pitman by the rotary motion of the crank-arm is communicated through the guiderod and shoe to the operating-lever and by the latter to the rocking lever which is connected to the valve-rod, whereby the valve-rod is reciprocated in a manner similar to and with a 7o throw: equal to that which is imparted in the ordinary practice by means of an eccentric and yoke. The longitudinal movement of the pitman is allowed without a'ecting the operating-lever by means of the shoe and the 7 5 guide-rod, as above described.

From the above description it will be seen that the mechanism for operating the valve is compactly arranged and may be and preferably is disposed within the engine-room 8o within reach of the engineer, where it is protected from injury by the means hereinbefore enumerated, and where it may receive the attention of the operator in the matter of oiling and otherwise without exposing such operator to inclement weather.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of this 9o invention.

The laterally-deliected jaws 9 and 10 of the rocking leverS have concave inner surfaces, the curve of the jaw 10 being struck from a center coincident with the center of the head 11 when said head is at the limit of its upward movement, and the curve of the jaw 9 being struck from a center coincident with the center of the head 11 when the latter is at the limit of its downward movement. roo The diameter of the head 11 is less than the interval between the arms 9 and 10, whereby the lever 8 and the valve-rod connected thereto do not receive a continuous movement, but are actuated only at the limits of movement of the lever 12, whereby the reversal of the position of the valve connected to the valve-stem is accomplished at points near or at the ends of the strokes ofthe piston, thus cutting off and admitting the steam without back-pressure. The concave inner faces of the jaws adapt them for receiving motion from the rounded head 1I without unnecessary friction,

Having described my invention, what I claim is The combination with a valve-rod, of a rocking lever pivotall y connected to the valverod and provided with outwardly detlected jaws 9 and 10 having concave inner faces, an operating levery pivoted at an intermediate point and provided at the extremity of one of its arms with a rounded head tting loosely between the jaws of the rocking lever and adapted to alternately engage the same, said head being ot less diameter than the interval between the jaws, to engage the latter at the ends of the strokes, a guide-rod carried by a pitman forming a part of the mechan ism in connection with which the valve gear is employed, and a shoe mounted to slide upon the guide-rod and pivotally connected to the other arm of the operating lever, whereby the transverse movement of the pitman causes an oscillation of the operating lever which is communicated to the rocking lever to impart a reciprocatory movement to the valve-rod, said shoe and guide-rod permitting free longitudinal reciprocation ot the pitman, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. HORNBAKE.

Witnesses:

S. B. PAXTON, G. H. LEWIS. 

